The board agreed to give nurses raises of up to 11 percent over
the next six months despite the $3.2 million cost, even as
supervisors are grappling with a projected $80 million deficit for
the next fiscal year.

"Certainly, this will help from a morale perspective," said
Douglas Bagley, chief executive officer for the regional hospital
in Moreno Valley. "I think it's also intended to send a message to
the nurses that even though the county is facing very, very
difficult financial circumstances, nonetheless this is a
high-priority issue for the board. The county wants to demonstrate
its commitment to its nurses and wants to retain them."

The union, which represents 5,800 county employees, appeared to
be satisfied with the deal. Union spokeswoman Tracy Silveria said
it was a "positive step" toward retaining nurses.

At the same time, the SEIU and the county remain at odds over a
contract the board imposed, forcing all of the union's members to
contribute a portion of their paychecks toward pension plans. The
union in November rejected the county's request to make those
contributions.

"While we applaud these results (in the nursing agreement),
Riverside County management continues to impose an improper,
unlawful and unfair contract on workers, including nurses,"
Silveria said by email.

Bagley said the decision to give raises is not geared toward
reducing the county's dependence on nurse registries.

In the past, supervisors have expressed concern about the
perceived overuse of registries, which are private contractors that
provide nurses upon request, to fill gaps in hospital staffing.

Bagley said the county now gets fewer than 10 percent of nurses
from registries. Because of fluctuations in the number of hospital
patients, there is no need to reduce that further, he said.

Just recently, the number of patients staying overnight varied
from 300 around Christmas to 380 last week, he said. Bagley said
using registries allows the county to ramp up staffing quickly
during busy periods without hiring nurses who aren't needed during
slower periods.